NOWAK NAMED USMNT ASSISTANT COACH

Peter
Nowak gave up the security of the head coaching job with DC United to
reunite with his former coach with the Chicago Fire, Bob Bradley, when
he accepted the position as the assistant coach of the US U-23 Men's
National Team and the same position on an interim basis with the US
Men's National Team.

Nowak himself was a candidate for the
position that has temporarily gone to Bradley. But, the announcement
that Nowak will join Bradley's staff could be a sign that Bradley will
get the job on a permanent basis.

Nowak helps fill in some of the
gaps on Bradley's resume having had a long career in international play
with Poland, as well as loads of high level European club experience as
a player.

Add in the fact that the personalities of Nowak and
Bradley could make them the soccer version of "The Odd Couple", and
this appears to be a match made in heaven.

Only time will tell,
but I'm more than impressed with Bradley's first couple of moves after
being given the interim job by Sunil Gulati and US Soccer.

Bob
Bradley has already lost one of his Chivas USA players due to injury in
goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Guzan suffered a back injury as a member of the
MLS Select Squad that recently toured England. Chicago's Matt Pickens
was selected to replace Guzan.

The bigger news is that New
England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman is out due to groin injuries
picked up during the MLS season and that the roster has expanded from
29 players to 31 with the additions of forward Eddie Johnson of the
Kansas City Wizards and defenders Todd Dunivant from the NY Red Bulls
and Danny Califf who comes back from his team in Denmark.

Also of note is the fact that 2006 MLS Cup MVP Brian Ching is missing this camp to rest a knee injury.

Peter Nowak's top assistant, Tom Soehn, was tabbed to replace
Nowak upon his stepping down to take his new job with US Soccer. Soehn
was one of the hot names this offseason when it came to the job
openings in Kansas City, Dallas, and Chivas USA. But, with Nowak
leaving, DC United was able to keep Soehn in the organization.

Soehn
has been an assistant coach in MLS for the past six seasons. The first
three came in Chicago and the least three have been with DC United.

And
the first move under the new leadership was the decision to part ways
with the 2002 Hermann Trophy winner and the top pick in the 2003 MLS
SuperDraft in forward Alecko Eskandarian. Eskandarian's finest moment
as a pro came in 2004 when he was named the MVP of the MLS Cup finals
as he led DC United to the title.

However, Eskandarian has struggled since suffering a major concussion in a collision with New England goalkeeper Matt Reis.

It will be interesting to see if Eskandarian can recapture his finishing touch north of the border.

Apparently delays in getting a new soccer stadium built aren't limited to Western New York.............

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and
not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to
send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read
(but not to respond) to all of them.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? SoccerSam loves hearing from listeners, guests and fellow soccer aficionados. Learn how to get in touch with Sam or the show’s producers by checking out our contact page.